First 2024 Fishing Report!

Congratulations to all of us for making it through another winter!  The last several days have really felt like we turned the corner and are fully into spring.  The ice has melted off most of the lakes and the salmon fry are starting their out migration to the salt.  We were able to do some prospecting recently and based on what we have seen and heard from other folks; fishing season has started.  It is still early, so keep your expectation of actually catching fish fairly low, but it is well worth the effort to go give it a try.

The Dredge lakes area and Auke Lake are both fishing well for trout.  Try small fry patterns.  While they will occasionally hit bugs this time of year, chances are if you see them feeding on the surface they are eating fry.  Cowee creek and Fish creek both have small runs of steelhead and sources indicate there are a few fish around.  Lastly, we have not heard much about saltwater Dollies yet, but given the weather we would expect people to start seeing Dollies in the salt within the next couple weeks.

We won't be doing the weekly report just yet, but there is enough going on in Juneau and surrounding areas in S.E Alaska that we would encourage everyone to start getting out there.  May 3rd will be the shops first casting night, followed by the community casting event on May 16th at Twin Lakes.

As always, we love featuring your photos for our fishing reports.  If you have a great fish, scenery, or action photo that has to do with fishing around town send it our way!  You can email photos or videos to cory@alaskaflyfishinggoods.com.  Please remember to handle fish with care, especially if you are practicing catch and release.  Consider getting a net with a rubber basket to help land fish quickly, pinch your barbs and keep them in the water until you are ready to snap a quick photo.

See you on the water!

The Crew at AFFG

Listed below are the hot patterns of the week.  Fisheries change here through-out the season and so do the best patterns to use.  Below are some of the recommended flies for the current fisheries.  Happy fishing!

Hot Beads/Flies - Steelhead

Hot Flies - Cutthroat Trout / Dolly Varden